Every year, Katmai National Park and Preserve holds Fat Bear Week to raise awareness for the park and to showcase their amazing bears. Recently, the event has become very popular among wildlife lovers across the country and the world.

The winner is crowned on Fat Bear Tuesday, which was on October 11th. This fun, light-hearted competition was created to raise awareness for brown bears in Alaska and elsewhere, as their habitats are being threatened. 

These bears start to gain weight and eat more to survive the winter and prepare for hibernation, making October the perfect time to hold this event. They eat most salmon and other fish to achieve this. Because voters and fans can see the before and after photos from spring to fall, they can really see how much weight these bears have gained for this purpose. 

The Katmai National Park and Preserve has over 2,200 bears currently on its property in the mountains near the Novarupta volcano, with a majority of them being brown bears. But only 12 of these bears are chosen to compete in Fat Bear Week every year, making competition tight. The three fan-favorites this year were 747, aka “Bear Force One” after a part of his ear was missing from a fight with another bear; bear number 901, a rookie competitor and one of the only female bears in the competition; and bear number 480, better known as Otis, a 26-year-old 4-time winner of the prestigious title.

After a tight race, rookie 901 beat past champion Otis by over 23,000 votes, saddening many fans. This created an opening for 901 to get into the finals, which is where she faced off against another fan-favorite and past champion: 747. Weighing in at over 1,400 pounds, 747 is truly a force to be reckoned with. 

Because female brown bears don’t take on as much weight as male brown bears, it was shocking to some fans that 901 even got in the finals. But her before and after pictures were astonishing, leading many people to believe that 901 is pregnant! Although 747 is visibly larger than 901, it was still a tight race. 

On Fat Bear Tuesday, the winner was announced. Bear 747 had won by over 11,000 votes! Although 747 took the prize this year, fans and the Katmai Preserve predict that 901 will most definitely stay in the bracket next year and maybe win the coveted title. Until then, 747 will be known as the fattest bear of them all. If you’d like to see these bears in action, you can check out Katmai’s Bear Cams, which showcase the bears when they’re not hibernating!